The Shadow Warrior (Spin-Off)
by LeoKilo
Summary: Based off the Shadow Warrior game, comes a new story. Ling Wu was born into a family of 7 brothers. The family had Chi powers, but only for the males. Being a girl she learns to grow up with her mother, whom she admired throughout her childhood. When Zilla invades the monastery, all is lost and Ling finds herself searching for her past...
1. Act 1 Chapter 1

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter I

Ever since I was a little girl, I've known about Chi for as long as I could imagine. My family was special; we knew the secrets of Chi, and the connection to the Shadow Realm.

The Shadow Realm's a world of souls where the deceased would go. The realm's protected by the heroes; divided like the Yin-Yang. There were two forces, the heroes and the demons. Both fought for control, and balance was achieved between the two for many centuries. Those who died an honourable death, fought for the heroes in the realm, while those who died a villain, fought for demons. The heroes protected the citizens of the Shadow Realm, although the demons tried to overtake them many times. The Shadow Realm represented balance in the real world. If either side started to tip the balance, then the real world would be affected as well.

It all started with my grandpa Lei Wu, he worked for Zilla industries. It was a Chinese corporation, searching for power and opportunity. My grandfather was a loyal soldier. His ancestors had served Zilla for many years, and stayed loyal. It was not until he was sent to find the Nobitsura Kage, we were changed forever.

My grandfather was paid five million dollars to go out and search for the Nobitsura Kage Prime. It was a sword that carried magical Chi powers; Chi was powerful, and it was something that no one had ever known. Its secrets were locked inside, and the only way to unlock it was with spiritual bliss. My grandfather originally didn't care about all that mumbo jumbo. He just cared about the payout, until along his journey he found his spiritual guide. It had taught my grandfather the potential of the Nobitsura Kage Prime, and how it would affect the world if Zilla Industries got their hands on it. My grandfather then understood the responsibilities and sacrifices involved in protecting the world from Zilla Industries.

The guide led my grandfather to the sword, and he swore to protect it all costs. He was to report back to Zilla, the owner of Zilla Industries. He was a tall business man, with an angular face and sharp eyes, long raven hair constantly swept up into a ponytail. My grandfather then went to Zilla's Temple to meet with him. He was prepared to give him 3 times the payout for the Nobitsura Kage Prime, but grandfather declined. The business man stood up, looking straight at him in the eye. "This isn't a joke." he began.

My grandfather turned around in disapproval and began to walk towards the doors as they shut on him. Zilla ordered the henchmen to take the sword. Lei retaliated, and using the powers of the sword and Chi, he was undefeated. My grandfather escaped from the temple, Zilla was angry. My grandfather escaped to a mountain in Tibet. Zilla was angry, he swore revenge and the death of my whole family. Zilla was a demon in disguise, he was greedy and loathed for power. He wanted to control the world, with the help of the demons.

My grandfather met another man of Chi, Master Yi. They became good friends, and they built a monastery, temple and a dojo together on the mountains of Tibet. Soon, my grandfather married my grandma, and had 3 sons. Lo, Yong and Chao, my dad was Lo Wu. Only one male descendant in the family could keep the Chi. After turning 18, the rest lose their power, but not their skill. My dads brothers moved out to live a normal life after that, and my dad was the master of Chi. On a strange night, Master Yi disappeared without a trace. He hasn't been found ever since. Soon my dad met my mom, Juan Wu. They gave birth to 7 sons, and me. Ling Wu.


	2. Act 1 Chapter 2

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter II

They were surprised to see a girl, they thought I would be a boy. Its not every generation a daughter is born along with like, seven other guys. My master dad, Lo Wu teaches my brothers everyday about Chi and the Nobitsura Kage. The Nobitsura Kage Prime holds all the power, and the regular ones didn't. My dad would tell the stories of my grandfather and his spiritual guide. My father doesn't have one, he says a spiritual guide only shows when the time is needed.

My brothers, Cheng, Fang, Kang, Liang, Peng, Bingwen, and Hai learn from my dad every day. I don't get to be a part of it because I was a female, and females don't any Chi powers. I had to do all the housework with my mom instead. My mom Juan was glad to have me, she wouldn't be alone when all my brothers were meditating. She liked to have me as someone to talk to, and I liked to have her too. We cleaned dishes, cooked and went shopping together. I grew closest to my mother, while my brothers were on my dads side most of the time.

Cheng, Fang, and Kang were the oldest brothers, born in 1983, the year of the pig. They were big eaters, always left a mess in the kitchen. My younger brothers Liang, Peng, Bingwen and Hai were born in 1985, the year of the Ox. They were hard workers, and big goofers. I was born in 1988, the year of the dragon. My parents decided to try for one more son, but got me instead. My dad was disappointed at first, but my mom was happy.

Every morning, I would make their beds, while my Mom made breakfast. After breakfast, my brothers would go watch T.V. During this time, me and my mom would wash dishes together and talk about them behind their backs. After that, Lo would call all of them to meditate and teach them about the skills involved in using the Nobitsura Kage. I just watched, and observe as I see my brothers fail over and over again. But sometimes, they were pretty impressive.

Cheng and Fang were fearless competitors, they would compete in every trail. Liang and Peng, seemed to be the only ones who fell behind, and failed most of the trails. My other brothers were just about average. I enjoyed observing my brothers use their Chi powers in the dojo. Lo prohibited the use of the powers outside of the dojo. I would sit down with my mother as we watched them spar with each other. I've always dreamed of having Chi, and having my hands roar as I waved them across someone. Chi was used in warriors, and I was not one.

I listened as musical notes came out of each slash and lunge that they did. A magical tune would play, that sounded soothing with each hit. The Nobitsura Kage was not only a weapon. It was also a instrument.

One day I would ask my father if I could try it. He did everything he could to teach me to use it, but I just didn't work. My father said not to worry, and he said I was good at a lot of other things. I liked to draw, I was very artistic and I often drew portraits of the animals on the walls of our temple. There were many animals, such as tigers, dragons, bears and swans. Each of them had a meaningful connection to the Shadow Realm. Tigers were great ground warriors, who used speed and strength. Dragons were agile flyers, who could maneuver their way past anything. Bears represented rest, and were good at protecting their companions, as they would become ferocious if tempted. Swans represented balance, every warrior needed to achieve balance in their lives.


	3. Act 1 Chapter 3

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter III

Every month I would go with my mom down to the village area to do some shopping. Hank was the owner of the grocery store, he was a englishmen. He moved to Tibet to find spiritual guidance, but gave up along the way. Instead of moving back to england, he opened up a shop here. It was a mixture of western culture foods and asian foods. There were foods like dumplings and sushi, chips and hamburgers. My favorite was the shanghai noodles, while my moms was udon noodles. me and my mother would have a big bowl of these along with bubble tea on the side. Before we left the store we always left a tip for Hank.

After the shopping we would explore the village, there were so many things to see but not enough time. There were many unexplored stores that I wanted to see. The day passes by too fast, and I could never explore them all. We had to make it back home before it became dark. When it was dark the was when the wolves would come out. The wolves were vicious night dwellers, and anyone caught in a herd was to meet their demise.

Our house was well maintained, it was blessed by the Shadow Realm. The temple was in the backyard, where we gave our offerings to the heroes. We thanked them for the power of the Chi and asked them to watch over us. Inside the temple was a long hidden path that lead to the outskirts of China. It was a railway that lead down the insides of the mountains. We were to use this path if anything had happened to us. My father tells me if anything happens to any of us, use the path and find Uncle Yong and Aunt Qing.

I visit Uncle Yong and Aunt Qing every 3 months or so with the whole family. They lived in a very western cultural area, everything there seemed so different. Uncle Yong would tell stories of he and Lo competing in my grandfathers trials. None of the stories applied to me, I couldn't learn anything out of it but they were still fun to listen to. My brothers would pay attention, trying to see if they can use the tactics he used. Sometimes, I felt alone. I was the only child without any Chi and my brothers didn't really have anything in common with me. Bingwen and Hai were the only ones who made an attempt to know me. They would talk to me every now and then without any sarcasm like my other brothers. They would also help out with my chores. Bingwen was a more sympathetic person than the others. Whenever he saw me struggling he would help. Hai was more of a advice person, he would teach me how to get deal with my other brothers.

Lo Wu was strict, but to me he wasn't. In the dojo, if anyone disrupted his lessons they would be in trouble. One time I laughed so hard as Liang and Peng wore their pajamas robes to class in a surprise morning drill. My dad just looked at me, I think I saw him crack a smile.


	4. Act 1 Chapter 4

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter IV

The year was 1998, and I was turning ten. My mother was the only there to celebrated my birthday it with me. My brothers and my dad was at a martial arts tournament in Japan. Today was my special day, we went to stay a night at the village instead of staying home. We went to Hank's and bought lots of food and shared it with everyone in the store. "Happy Birthday Ling!", my mom exclaimed. I smiled, and continued to shove cake in my face. I met some other girls at the store. At first I was a bit shy and nervous, as I didn't know how to approach them. I sucked it up and for the first time I felt like I was actually connecting to people. We played, and laughed until it became dark. Hanks store was starting to close, so we went to stay at the hotel.

I was in the lobby, and saw people from everywhere around the world entering and exiting the front door. They were busy, and were passing by for business meetings. I talked to some of them, though most of them ignored me. One of them was waiting for a train, and sat down with me. He was a sports agent, and was looking for incredible talent here in Tibet. I asked him, why here? He told me he had reports of martial artists in the area that seemed somewhat magical. By the end of our conversation, I hadn't realized he was probably talking about Chi.

My mom finished at the front desk and told me to get my stuff. I got a lot of presents at the store, the other kids bought me stuffed animals and sweets. I thought the party was my present from my mom, but she said she had a surprise for me. We went to room 202, it was on the 6th floor.

I walked outside on the porch and looked at the village. It was booming with lights, people and civilization. Something, I hadn't been around in awhile. I always saw this on T.V whenever my brothers were watching there drama shows. It felt so nice, watching life in the village. At night time, usually things ended there. But out here, life seemed to continually bring surprises.

I laid down on the bed, and flipped through the T.V channels then my mom came in. "Happy Birthday sweetie!", she walked in with a emerald necklace. I was shocked, it was a priceless gem. She put it around my neck, "Believe in yourself, don't let anyone tell you that you were never meant for greatness." She kissed me on the cheek and told me to sleep. "Thanks mom." I replied, and kissed her back. My mom had to go downstairs to run some errands, and she told me to get to sleep. She left, and I finished watching an episode of The Lee Brothers. As I went to sleep, I closely tug the necklace close to my heart.

The next morning we went home in the morning, but we took an alternate path. We went to pond and cleaned our faces. She then took a bucket and filled with water. She gave me some seeds to plant in the ground. "Lets make this place pretty", she asked. I nodded, and we grabbed a bunch of rocks and made a border around the pond. She took the bucket and watered the plants, "These flowers will grow nice and pretty, just like you" she smiled. We placed the rocks in a flower like pattern around the lake.

We both sat down on the bench, and watched as the ducks and fish roam around in the pond. Its times like these where I enjoyed life, just me and mom. We relaxed, without having to worry about doing any work. My mom wanted to tell me something. She told me that I had a big future ahead of me and staying at the monastery wasn't a good way to groom me. She suggested that I attend actual school in China with my Uncle Yong and Aunt Qing, If I wanted. I hesitated. "Theres no point in you living here with your brothers, you need to be in a more social environment." She suggested. I didn't want to leave my mom to do all the work at the house. She said it was for my own good, and that it would benefit me more. But I didn't feel like it, it seemed a bit unfair that my mother doesn't get the same opportunity. Her age wasn't getting any better, she was always tired and I felt bad for her. "Mom, I can't leave you alone" I said. She told me not to worry, and that she'll be fine. I wasn't so sure about accepting it. It could be a nice change for me, but at the same time I cared about my mom more. We stopped talking, and just looked in the reflection of the water together.

We walked back home, and prepared to the house for my brothers return. We cleaned the house and prepared there beds. We were both exhausted, so we went to sleep.


	5. Act 1 Chapter 5

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter V

The morning came, I was still in my room sleeping. I could faintly hear my brothers coming home. "Whoo, that was awesome! First place!" shouted Fang. "Naw, you just got lucky. I'll get you next time." said Cheng. I slowly started to wake up, and I heard the boys shouting and plates clanging. I rubbed my eyes, and tried to lift myself up. My mother woke up very early and prepared a feast for them, I could smell it. If only I was awake I could've helped her. I went to the washroom to brush my teeth, only to find out that my brothers had used up all the toothpaste. I went to the basement to get the extra supplies. It was dark, and I was tired. I tried to find the light switch when I slipped and fell down the stairs on my left arm. My arm got crushed by my chest and the pain started to seer. My mom heard and came immediately to tend the wound. It was pretty bad, and my mom told me, "Go get your dad to do this part, okay Ling?" I nodded, and went to find my dad.

As I past the hallway, my brothers were feasting and watching T.V. I found my dad on the porch, I approached him. As soon as I walked in he noticed, "Ling, are you hurt?" he said. I replied, "Its not terrible." He carried me onto his lap, "Let me see your arm." I showed my dad my arm, and he started to rub his hands. Magical floating ancient letters floated above his arms. I was in awe, staring at the letters as it danced across his fingers. "This won't hurt a bit", he put his hands on my arms. It stung a little, but after a while, it started to sooth. "It'll heal in a couple of days." He set me down told me to eat my breakfast. I turned around and silently thanked him.

I finished brushing my teeth, and went to the dining room. Only to find that my brothers had ate all the food. I started to get frustrated, so I looked in the fridge. "Ugh, leftovers." I slammed the door and the cartons above the fridge fell. Kang laughed, pointing out my mistake. The other boys started to laugh to. Bingwen noticed and asked if I needed any help. "Yeah, that'll be nice" I said, and we both picked up the things on the floor. My arm wasn't fully functional, and I had trouble picking the cartons up. I started to shelve the cartons with my other arm, when Kang came from behind. He slapped the cartons off my brothers hands and they all went tumbling down. "What are you doing!?" I shouted, then Kang started to mock me in front of the guys. He was imitating me in an immature way, Bingwen was forced to laugh with them. I started to get mad, but tried to ignore Kang. I picked up the cartons, but Kang got in the way and used the fridge. I pushed him back, then he forcefully pushed me back with Chi. He used Chi on me. Everyone turned around, and it was silent. They were all looking at me. "I don't need your **** right now." It was one of the first times I ever swore to anything. Everyone was shocked. I started to tear up, so I quickly walked back upstairs to save any dignity I had left.

I hated my brothers, they were so inconsiderate. They always frustrated me and treat me like a servant. I was so fed up with them, they don't even care about my birthday yesterday. It would have been nice if they gave me a present or something. They probably didn't even realize when I was born, or if I was born at all. My dad gave Kang a lecture about using Chi outside the dojo. Kang was grounded and had to clean the dojo alone for the next two weeks. The dojo was the only place, I wasn't allowed to clean. At this point I was still filled with anger. I thought about my moms suggestion of living in the city. I would be away from my brothers, and with people that were like me. After thinking about this for some time I went to my mom, and told her I wanted to get out of this place, I wanted to go live with my Uncles. My mom said I could start next week.

I went outside and kicked a coke bottle around as I was still angry. I wandered around in the backyard, thinking more of how selfish my brothers were and how it would be so nice to finally leave. My mind started to wander, I thought of life in a city, being surrounded by people who were like me. Chi-less. I thought of how it was like to be normal, to be in a crowd where I would actually get along with other kids like me. I wanted this now. It just seemed so great, going to school and getting an education. I didn't have to learn all this useless Chi that wouldn't apply to me anyways. I wanted to learn actual things.

I stopped in front of the temple. I looked up at the dragon statue on top of the temple. I went inside, and looked at the colorful glass windows. I stared at the dragon portrait. If only I were a dragon, I could fly away from this place.


	6. Act 1 Chapter 6

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter VI

The next morning, something happened. My mother got terribly sick. I was shocked and I couldn't believe it. I didn't want her to be sick, not after everything we've been through. I couldn't lose her now, not ever. My dad was in her room, and tried everything he could. It seemed like no Chi method had worked. All my brothers started to crowd around my moms bedside. There wasn't any room for me, I couldn't squeeze in. I went to the hallway instead. Our rooms were small, in order to fit all 10 rooms on a single floor.

I went downstairs, and outside to the dojo. I walked in, and saw my dad in a meditative state on the Yin-Yang portrait on the floor. I didn't want to bother him, and I tried to turn around and walk away. "Yes? Ying?" he noticed. I turned back and walked closer, but didn't know how to approach him. When I observed my brothers there were certain rules how to navigate around the dojo. On the ground it had some forbidden portraits my brothers weren't allowed to step on. I started to try jumping around them then I accidently stepped on the pigs nose. My dad laughed, "Haha, you don't have to follow their rules." I relaxed myself, and approached my dad normally.

"Thank you." he said. I started to get confused, "You're thanking me? For what?" He told me that I was the only one who was closest to mom. My brothers were never closest to her, and my dad said he was thankful of having me. Without me, my mother would be lonely, and my dad was too busy to accompany her. He was thankful of having me as a daughter.

I hugged my dad, "Whats going to happen to mom?" A tear rolled down my dads face. That was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. He's dealt through every physical and emotional situation, and never cried once. I felt like my words didn't come out right. he got up and walked down the carpet. He turned around, and said "It seems terminal. I tried everything in the book, nothing worked. This could only be the work of a demon spirit." I started to weep, my dad came closer to me. "I've haven't been giving enough attention to her, its my fault. I'm sorry, I could have become a better husband." From there, I started to cry even more. I wanted to say something, but my natural habit of crying involves being quiet. My dad tried to avoid crying, and tried to get his words out. "I thought I could do it all. Become a good teacher, and father. But the one thing I forgot about the most was being a good husband." I grabbed some kleenex tissues, and handed some to my dad. This was the first moment me and my dad talked like this. We both cried together. His sensitive side was revealed to me, he didn't mind. I didn't mind either.

The boys were coming back for more training. My dad dried up his tears and went back to a meditative state. That was the signal for me to leave, so I walked out and headed to the temple. I gave an offering to the Shadow Realm, asking them to do something about my mother's illness. Something had happened as I lighted the candles on the shrine. The smoke created an image of a leaf. As I looked closely, I saw a type of herb. It seemed like it was used to make tea, perhaps that would help with my mother's illness. I remembered seeing a herb like this at the village store.

I was going to head over to Hank's shop alone. I brought my jacket and took money out of my bed mattress. I bundled up, and brought some snacks. I didn't bother telling anyone I was heading out, it seemed they were upset about my mother's illness.

I headed over to Hank's and bought some herbal tea. I saw some of the people I met at the party in the store, and I headed over to talk to them. I built up my nerve, and talked to them about how their lives were like. It was interesting hearing how their lives were compared to mines. They lived, completely normal Chi-less lives. I wanted to be in the same conditions as they were. They invited me over to their houses in the village. There homes were much smaller than the monastery, but it was more cozier. They had something called video games, something I never heard of. They fired up the console system and I tried to play with them. I was really good at it, I had gotten the top score out of any of them. They were amazed by my skills, and asked if I had practise at home. I said, "Nope, I touched this thing in my life". I stayed for hours, and I hadn't realized the time. It was nearing night time, and I had to leave now before the wolves came out. I was debating whether to leave now or stay overnight. But there moms probably wouldn't let me stay. I didn't have enough money for a hotel room either. I decided to leave now before it was too late, I said goodbye to them and headed for the village gates.

It was dark, and I could barely see. I couldn't make word of the signs, so I tried to use my instincts to find my way back. I tried to find familiar landscapes to get a sense of where I was. I thought I was going on the right path, then lead to a dead end. Nightfall was approaching quickly, so I started to panick. I tried to scream for help, but no one was nearby. It was cold, and my shoes were getting wet. It was a terrible situation to be in, so I picked up the pace. I went back and tried to retrace my steps, then I heard a howl. My heart started racing. I started to fast walk, but as I heard the bushes rustle I started to run. I just ran, I didn't stop nor did I look back. I could hear the rustling getting louder, then came a growl. I gasped, and started to sprint in hopes of me being able to outrun it. I couldn't tell what was chasing me and I didn't look back. I ran across the forest, far away from the path of the roads. My left arm started to sting, I looked back but tripped on a log. I fell on my face, and felt like something was tugging me down. I quickly tried to get back up, but my movement was restricted. The howling was getting louder and I started to heard footsteps. My foot wouldn't let go from the branches. The growl was getting closer, then there was complete silence.

I saw a wolf leap across the bushes, as a spear came piercing through the heart it. A voice cried, "LING!" on the other side. "She's over here!" It sounded like my brother Hai. Hai came to help me out of the branches. The wolves started to surround us. The wolves looked hungry and came closer. My leg became loose and I stayed beside Hai. "Circle of Iron!" Hai released an energy of Chi that went around us. The wolves were stunned, and the rest of the brothers came to finish them off. My dad grabbed me, "What were you doing out here?!" I was too scared to answer, and he handed me over to my brothers. "Get Ling back to the house, Now!" My dad started to single handedly take on the wolves as 2 of my brothers carried me away.

I reached home, Bingwen and Hai set me down, and made me some tea. The rest of my brothers went out to my dad. After I sat down I gave Hai the herbal tea medicine, "Make some of this for mom, okay?" The both of them didn't ask what my intentions were being out there in the forest and just agreed. I guess it was pretty clear I was trying to help mom. I was exhausted and lightheaded, I started to close my eyes. I fell asleep.

I started to dream. Dream about life in the city, with friends. I imagined attending school every morning, and socializing with my imaginary friends. The dream felt so real, it was so calm. I didn't have to do any housework or anything that involved my brothers. I didn't want to wake up.

But something woke me up in the middle of the night. Everyone was asleep, but I had an twitch to do something. I walked past the hall, and heard my brothers snoring. I quietly walked downstairs, to the living room. Bingwen and Hai must've told my dad why I was out there I thought. My head felt an urge and brought me outside. I looked into the woods, there was nothing there. I looked more closely, wolves maybe? I looked around, and saw a shadow. I shook my head, and looked more closely. It looked like a man? I tried to get a better view but it disappeared. It seemed like whatever it was saw me, and got spooked. I was probably dreaming or sleepwalking or something. I couldn't really think straight, and so went back inside and laid on the sofa.

I went back to dreaming. But I was dreaming about something else. I saw even more strange things, shadows. The shadows were circling me, and I couldn't move. I saw a face, a mask. It looked ancient, it had colorful features and curved edges. It had 2 horns on top of it, it was creepy looking. But what I saw was only a faint image of what it was.


	7. Act 1 Chapter 7

Shadow Warrior - Act I Chapter VII

Days passed, and I was to head to my Uncles house tomorrow. My mom was still ill, and I told her I wanted to stay and take care of her. She refused, and said it'll be better for me if I went. It was the day I spent most of my time next to her. My brothers were kind and helped with the chores. Although they were horrible at it, the thought was nice of them to help. Every morning I prayed to the Shadow Realm to watch over my family, I didn't want anything to happen to them.

I started to make my breakfast. I made some pancakes with syrup and berries. I sat down and looked around the room. It was quiet, not like usual when my brothers were watching the T.V on full blast volume. I thought of how I was going to cope with everything that was happening. On the bright side, I was looking forward to living in the city. I took a sip of tea and decided to make a special breakfast for my mom. I learned how to make her favorite udon noodles back at the village. I started to boil the noodles, and looked checked for ingredients. Everything was calm, it was a nice feeling. I looked out the window and stared at the clouds. Everything was still. I started to chop the vegetables as I felt something strange. There was a strange noise outside, and the house started to shake. I quickly went to take a look outside. There was something coming closer to the house, there were dark colored vehicles coming up the mountain.

The whole house started to shake like an earthquake. Something was happening and it was wasn't good. There was a convoy of marked vans with the Zilla logos approaching the monastery. I ran for my dad, screaming that something was happening. "Fang, where's dad!?" I hurried. Lo was meditating in the dojo. Fang told everyone to be on their guard, as we went to the dojo. My dad quickly jumped as we entered, and we told him about the van. My dad got up and rushed to the front door. "May Enra protect us…" my said quietly as he stared out at the convoy. He turned around and told my brothers to prepare for battle. He told me to look after my mom in her room.

I quickly ran upstairs to my moms room and held her close. She was still weak, and it pained her to move. I held her tight, and we heard a large bang sound. I could hear voices downstairs. My mom looked at me, she struggled to get a word out. I told her to relax, and that it'll all be fine. She knew it wasn't going to be, she used all her energy to try to say something to me. I patted her head, she was burning up at a high rate. "Ling… use the tunnel to reach Uncle and Aunt Qing." I barely knew what to say, but I just kept her close to me.

"I Know you're in there Lo Wu. I've finally found you after years of searching for the Nobitsura Kage Prime. Now I will finally have my revenge..." My dad didn't say a word, he gave my brothers the signal to be ready for anything. "Give up Wu, there's no point in resisting." We heard the door be tampered with, as Lo prepared to push the door back against them. A loud explosive blew through the kitchen wall and the rest of the henchmen started to come through. My brothers started to attack them, and my dad blew the front door. The henchmen flew back away from the force of the Chi. My brothers were swatting the henchmen like flies and it seemed like an easy fight. That was until, we heard blades rotating in the air. A armed helicopter started to approach the house. Lo told my brothers to defend the house, Lo was heading to the dojo to protect the Nobitsura Kage Prime.

I was scared, I didn't know what to do. I just kept holding my mother tight and avoided attracting any attention. The house started to shake more as loud sounds of the roof started to break. A huge rocket blasted through the roof and debris was falling. I froze, as I saw the spark started to trickle all across the house. The house was on fire, and smoke was forming everywhere. I turned to my mom, "Mom, its not safe here! We have to go!" My mom was very weak, she couldn't move. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, as I held her hand tight. She looked at me, and smiled. "This is it for me, good luck Ling…", I stood back, and I couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't leave me, especially not now. I didn't know what to say, it all felt so unreal. So she said the last words. "Your amazing Ling… never forget that…", she closed her eyes.

I felt her heartbeat, it was still. I started to cry up against the wall. I heard the shouts of my brothers in pain outside. I was so scared, it all happened too fast. I didn't want to see my family like this, I didn't know what to do. I slowly exited to the hallway, and a henchmen grabbed my arm. Liang came and crippled his legs. The henchmen was on his knees and then my brother stabbed him through the heart. It was the first time I ever saw my brothers stab another man. Liang quickly asked if mom was okay, I was still in shock. Liang realized, and nodded.

Everyone was fighting off henchmen everyone. "Quick, get Ling out of here!" screamed Fang. I ran downstairs with Liang, and two henchmen appeared in front of me. Liang tapped me on the shoulder, as he went to pursue them. I quickly head towards the back door, then I said Peng. He was in trouble, overpowered by 5 soldiers. He saw me, and looked at me in the eye. His eyes told me to do something, but I couldn't. I didn't know how to fight, I was Chi-less too. Everyone was screaming in pain, my heart and mind couldn't take it. I turned to the left and ran outside. I quickly ran behind the garden shed wall, as I started to tear up. I could hear the pain and suffering as I heard Hai shout his last breath. I didn't look back, I continued to run. It was all real, no matter how much I tried to wake myself up. I didn't know what to do, I just wanted to sit and cry.

They hadn't reached the temple yet, as I passed the dojo I saw my dad. I peaked inside and Zilla was there. He had my dad at his mercy. There were restraint cuffs on the back of Lo's arms. I wish I hadn't looked, but I did. I stood against the wall, as I heard my dad struggling. Zilla bashed his head, and spat on him. He repeatedly kicked him until he started to bleed. "So Lu Wu, Give up the Nobitsura Kage Prime." My dad didn't move, I could tell he was struggling to get himself up. My dad had the sword locked in a Chi vault. It was a matter of time before my dad would give up. Zilla took out his small pocket knife, and put it near his ear. "Now, where is the sword. If you tell me, I won't cut off your ear." my dad refused to answer. "I'm going to find it eventually Wu, even if you don't tell me." He slapped my dad across his face. Zilla grabbed his face, and started to sear his knife through his ear. My dad didn't scream, and I looked away. I could hear the metal ripping through the flesh. I looked back, and blood was all over his face. It was horrible, I didn't know how much I could take. "468 henchmen. Dead, but for a good cause. They'll be back in my control once I unleash hell on earth" he said. "I swore to protect the Nobitsura Kage, I'll die with honour." my dad said. Zilla was furious, he picked up my dad and threw him across the dojo. It was not until the carpet started to rip apart, was when Zilla found the vault. Zilla had an evil smile, he was one step closer to power. "So Wu, how do I open this vault you made…", Zilla asked my father. My dad continued to refuse to help, and Zilla was close to his breaking point.

Footsteps came from behind, and I quickly hid in the closet next to the dojo break room. I could still faintly see what was happening. 5 of my brothers, only Liang and Hai were not accounted for. They were all restrained, and the henchmen sat them down in execution style in front of my dad. I hope he wasn't gonna do what I thought he was. "Tell me, and maybe I won't rip off your sons heads off." It was getting real and he wasn't bluffing either. My dad hesitated, he had to make a decision. If I was in his position i'd probably be liquidated by now. My brothers were strong, "Dad, don't tell him!" My father started to cry, and Zilla took out a katana. My brothers nodded, and agreed that this was a noble sacrifice. Zilla started to single handedly scalp my brothers alive. I looked away, but Lo was forced to watch. I was perfectly still, couldn't move. When I looked back, all of them were on the ground.

"Suffered enough, Wu?" Zilla stood. "Even if you kill me, it'll take you years to unlock the vault." my dad explained. Dogs, entered the dojo. They started to sniff around and I worried that they would catch my scent. My heart started racing, it got closer. Zilla was still talking to Wu, when the dog started to bark at the cabinet. I felt dead, Zilla turned to the cabinet and approached it. I didn't know what to do, but the door opened in front of me. Zilla looked at me in the eyes, he grabbed me out of the cabinet. Zilla had a demonic look in his eyes, it looked like he was possessed.

Zilla sat me down in front of my dad. "I'll let you two have a little chat." Zilla left the room. "Ling, what are you doing here, you should've left." I started to cry, I've seen too much horror today. My dad told me to look at him, "Be strong, I won't let anything happen to you."

Zilla came back to the dojo, and proposed an offer to Lo. I tried not to look at Zilla, as he stood next to me. "You have a choice Wu. Either tell me how to unlock the vault, and you'll both live. Or, don't tell me and you'll die, but ill give your daughter a 10 second head start to run." My dad looked at me, I tried telling him with my eyes to tell them to open the vault. My dads shook his head and told him, "You'll have to kill me." Zilla shouted, "Think about it Wu, you have the Chi, not her. She's powerless, useless, she doesn't serve any more of a purpose then you." my dad looked the other way, as Zilla tried to grab his face to look at him. Deep down I thought he was right, I was useless and I would have preferred if I died instead. My dad spoke, "She's more stronger than the both of us." Zilla laughed, uncontrollably. As you wish Wu, he said. "Since your daughter will be dead within a hour anyways, I'll let grant your wish." My dads eyes told me to be strong as Zilla walked behind him. "You have 10 seconds Ling…" he said. My dads eyes told me to run for it.

Zilla took out his katana, and pulled out his arm. He grabbed the sword with his two hands. I closed my eyes, all I heard was flesh.

"1….", I stood up, free to move around. Zilla's demonic eyes were staring at me as I got the signal to run. "2…" I made my way outside the dojo, and head towards the temple. 10 seconds happened so fast, the dogs started to chase me. I quickly ran to the temple, and leaped as the dogs tried to grab my leg. The door was open, when I got inside, the dogs had stopped chasing me as I closed it on them. For a second, it was silent. Until gunfire started to shoot through the wooden door. I quickly opened the secret door that lead to the tunnel. I grabbed the burning torch and tried to find my way to the railway. I could hear the door being bashed open from the outside. I waved the torch around and found the cart. It was old, rustic and never been used. I jumped inside, and released the brakes.

The loud screeching sound of the wheels started to spark. The cart was picking up speed, the cave started to rumble. They were bombarding the mountain, and rocks started to fall. One of the rocks hit the cart, and started to lose control. I was zig zagging without any rails while going downhill. This went on for what felt like hours, I tried to hang on inside as my body rocked left and right.

I was approaching a ramp, and I saw the light. I could almost imagine making it, but the rocks were damaging the cart. One of them hit my head, and I started to black out. I laid in the cart, and a rock landed on my chest. I could feel the cart as it hit a boulder, and I went flying.

I was on the ground, losing hope. I was weak, I couldn't move. The cart was tipped over on its side, but I was outside. I made it, I thought. My eyes started to close, and darkness took over. The last thing I saw was a shadow figure approaching me.


	8. Act 2 Chapter 1

Shadow Warrior - Act II Chapter I

"Happy Birthday Ling!"

Yong and Qing hugged me.

"Your such a big girl now, I can't believe you're 18!"

I had just graduated from high school, I was about to start university next week. My name is Ling Song, and I have been living with my mom and dad since for as long as I remember.

Today is my 18th birthday, I had a scar on the back of my head. I had it for as long as I could remember. My parents told me I had an accident at school one day and I lost a lot of my memory. Must've been some accident because I couldn't remember it at all. When I was 10, I woke up at the city hospital. It was strange, because I didn't remember anything before that. I still remembered all my knowledge, but my memories was the only thing affected. The psychiatrist tells me that im fine, and I shouldn't worry about it. All I knew was that, Yong and Qing were my parents and we've lived together ever since I was little. My parents told me we just moved here after the accident, in the city. Which means that I had started as a new student at school. Most of my childhood was blanked out, I couldn't recall anything.

I graduated high school, and was moving on to university. I was in honour rolls, and won awards like perfect attendance. I was a good student, when I wanted to be. I met all my friends there, Sarah, Diana and Jessica. We spent most of our time online, where we chatted and played games. They were like my sisters, we shared everything together.

I logged onto my computer, and started an online chat with my friends. "Hey Ling, you're on! Happy Birthday!" said texted. "Thanks" I replied, as I launched up the _World of Warriors_ online video game. "Which realm will we be taking over today?" I smiled.

I played the game all day with my friends, we killed demons, zombies and killed the legendary bosses. The game crashed, "Oh, fuck goddamnit" I said. "I need a better computer to play games on, I keep crashing." I relaunched the game, and had to watch the tedious Zilla Games intro.

"Man I wanna work Zilla one day" I said. It would be so cool if I could implement ideas into the game. "You should show them your artwork!" Sarah commented. I was a good drawer, when I was in school I was in the art club. I drew everything, and everyone was amazed, but I could never satisfy myself. Nothing I drew looked as professional as the real artists. Maybe I should try to submit some art I thought to myself. There was an application to send ideas to the game, all you had to do was fill in your name and address.

"Ling, Dinner!" mom called. "Coming!" I said, and I logged off. I went to the dinner table and saw shanghai noodles with bubble tea. "Your favorite, Enjoy!" I hugged my parents ate with them.

I spent another hour or so online gaming with my friends before I fell asleep. Every night I had weird dreams, I kept on seeing shadows and hearing voices. My shrink tells me that I was thinking too much about life. Which made no sense at all. I don't really like my shrink, although my parents spent money to pay for it. My parents say I play too much video games, as one of the reason why I'm dreaming about weird things.

Every morning I wake up incredibly early just by instinct, and have an urge to make my bed. I feel like somethings missing, but I could never tell what it is. I woke earlier than my parents, so I make them breakfast. Today I got up and changed to my exercise outfit. I always went jogging every morning at 5:00 am around the lake.

After doing my laps I would relax at the lake and stare into the water. I was always fond of the rocks, mostly the gems that were lying deep inside the water. Sometimes they would shine, and I would see them flash. This was a rare occurrence with the emeralds that beneath the dirt. It was a good way to pass the time, skipping rocks across the lake.

I ate my breakfast at 7:00 am at the local cafe shop. I would bring my laptop, and log on to the online world. I ordered a cup of coffee, and sat down on the comfy chairs. I saw the Zilla postor on the cafe walls, "Submit your idea to _World of Warriors_ and receive an job offering at Zilla Games." It always tempted me to submit one of my game ideas, but with so much other people with the same skills as me, I didn't think I'd be any special.

My friends arrived at the cafe, Sarah, Jessica and Diana. "How do you wake up so early?" she would ask. We hung out with each other all the time, in person and online. Sarah and I were best friends; Jessica and Diana were good friends. The four of us were nerds. We were all heading to the same university together in about a week, so we're spending all our free time in the cafe, playing games and drinking caffeine.

"So Ling, are you thinking of submitting your art to Zilla Games?" asked Jessica. I wasn't sure, could I really get into the program?

"Get this minion off me!", We were playing _World of Warriors_. I was a Mage class, and dealt with magic. Diana was a Healer, Jessica was a Archer and Sarah was a Knight. Together we dominated the realms. We would go around taking out noobs and stealing wealthy peoples items. We were caught a few times, but it was worth it just to see them having no choice but to do nothing about it. We had a clan, The Shadow Warriors. How did I come up with the name? I'm not so sure, but when I asked them they were cool with it.

We were on a quest, to take down the Yin-Yang dragon that guarded the Heroes Palace. Together, we were determined to loot it all. We spent weeks preparing the items for this day. Since we're going to university, we spent all our money in an huge gamble. If we lost, we would quit the game, if we didn't then we would continue. The boss dragon is said to be the most difficult battle in the game, but we were confident enough. We each had 7000+ hours in the game, we played a lot over the school years.

"You ready?" I asked Sarah. "One sec let me order a coffee." she replied. We waited for her to finish, when Jessica asked "Are you really not going to submit your art?" Diana agreed, and I said "You guys are too kind." I had no intention to submit my art, but I still liked to draw. Sarah was waiting in line to get her coffee, I took out my sketchpad and started to draw my idea of a warrior. It was a female warrior, named Wu and she had a badass sword. She had these powers that could defeat anyone. I gave her powers that could disrupt enemies and the ability to cast magical powers. I called this, Chi.

"Probably your best drawing yet" Jessica peaked, I hid my drawing. "Are we gonna play or what?" I asked. Sarah had came back with the Coffee, "I'm ready!"

We all spawned at the central tower, we were all going to head north to the Yin-Yang palace. Together along the way, we looted and killed everything we saw, no one dared to come near us after that. They knew that The Shadow Warriors were coming, and we were dangerous. We reached the gate of the Yin-Yang palace. Sarah used her knight shield to bash the gate open. Souls were flying at us. Jessica used her homing arrows as it pierced through the souls. Diana gave us a orbital shield that protected us from any incoming projectiles. We all moved in slowly, as a group.

The dragon appeared from the skies, it had two heads, and spikes all over his body. It was coming straight towards us, Diana reacted fast and blocked the dragon. The dragon was at 97% health. Together, me and Jessica shot projectiles at the yin head of the dragon. It was effective, and he was at 87% health. Sarah brought the dragon down to ground level, and stabbed its head repeatedly, as Jessica and I used rope to tie it down. It was unsuccessful, but we brought him down to 78%. Diana healed us, and she used her water ability to raise us up to the dragons altitude. Together we all did a unified attack, and that brought the dragon down to 54%. The dragon was angry for sure, and sended in the souls. Souls flew above our heads, and we all took hits. Diana was running out of mana to heal us all, and we started to use our own health potions. We drank all of our damage potions, and continued to bombard the dragon with everything we had. The dragon was soon at 10%, we could feel the victory already. We had lots of health, and we were so close. The dragon was at twice the speed now, and it was much harder to hit as he flew around the map. Finally, in a last attempt, Diana used her stop ability, Jessica used her rope to tie her down, and I used my projectiles to kill the surrounding soul. Sarah was charged, ready to bash the dragon to death.

She charged… and charged… for what seem like a move being repeated. The internet connection had dropped.

We sat there, looking at eachother. Analyzing what happened. We had it, and we lost it. I felt it was my fault, I was the one who suggested to go play at the cafe. The others started to get frustrated, they scratched their heads not saying a word. I wasn't sure what to say myself. We just logged back in the game, and found out that we had died. The other players passing by started to loot whatever was on the ground. We killed them.

We were done with the game, we went back to our virtual homes with whatever we had left. We stored our items in the chests and logged out. Hopefully we'll return another day. But for now, we decided to work on other things.

University was starting soon, I was going to go into the arts. In highschool, I was great in drama, art and gymnastics. Those were my strong points, in art I would always draw realistic photos and everyone would be amazed. In drama class, there wasn't one role I couldn't act. In gym class when it came to gymnastics, I was the most flexible one in the class. I was athletic, and I always kept in shape. But at the end of the day, I always came home to video games. My first interest was to get a job at a video game company, preferably Zilla Games. But since I couldn't, my only choices were drama arts. The second thing I wanted to do was become an actor.

I took out my sketchpad, and started draw lines. The lines became a body, and soon a person. It was female, but not just any female. I gave her some armor, and drew a sword. She was a female warrior, it was my video game idea. Wu, the Shadow Warrior. I started to think more about my character. I decided to give her a background story.

Wu, the female warrior grew up with her brothers in a home in China. She was often thought of being weaker than her brothers, but Wu changed that. I made Wu the strongest of all her brothers. She grew up competing with them, and now the brothers look up to her. I continued to sketch more of her, and I payed attention to more detail. I drew her arm facing towards me, and she had her left palm open. I started to draw chinese letters that hovered on top of the palm. I called this her Chi power, and I drew her tied back hair. I made her look sternly towards me, with the other hand holding the sword beside her hip. She looked cool, serious and was kinda pretty.

My mom came from behind, and she asked me what it was. I was pretty embarrassed, I don't show my parents my sketches. I think it was a pretty bad, when my mom saw it she got worried. "Ling, do you remember anything important?" she asked. I didn't know what that meant, so I shook my head. My mom went to make some tea, I felt like that was a strange encounter.

I continued to draw Wu until it was nearing night time. I finished the sketch, and started to color. The background was red and orange, the sword was shining towards me. Her Chi palm was glowing with yellow letters. Her armor was dark brownish colour, and her hair was black. I was done my concept art of Wu. Needless to say, it looked pretty good. I thought I might show my friends so I logged on and posted it. I logged on and they were amazed. They told me I should submit it to Zilla as it had lots of potential. I thought about it, but I never told them that I didn't want to. I was going to university, and I probably wouldn't have enough time for video game nonsense.

It was getting late, and I was pretty tired from all the drawing. I said goodbye as I logged off, and jumped on my bed. I took the Wu picture and held it up to the roof. I looked at it, and I felt a strange connection to it. I felt like this is what I fantasized about being, a warrior. It was a strange feeling as I know it won't happen. There are no warriors in the 20th century, only in video games. I took out my phone and took another picture of my drawing and saved it as my wallpaper. I said goodnight to Wu, and I fell asleep.


	9. Act 2 Chapter 2

Shadow Warrior - Act II Chapter II

"What do you think, should we submit the drawing for her?", Sarah asked. Jessica agreed, and then followed Diana. "She's gonna thank us later for this!" Sarah smiled. Jessica went to the Zilla Games submission page. You had to write a letter to them about your submission, what it was and contact information. They started to fill in the blanks together.

_To: Zilla Oshiro_

_Name: Ling Song_

_Description: Wu, The Female Shadow Warrior_

_Hello, my name is Ling Song. I have this idea for your game World of Warriors. I noticed that the game could use a new character, and I have designed this to fit your world. She is a female warrior who carries a sword and has powers called Chi. I love your game and it would be a dream if I could work for you. I am going to university soon, and I wanted to see if I could be accepted before I go. I am a talented artist and I hope you found my submission interesting. I have sent my personal contact information below. I look forward to hearing from you._

_Sincerly,_

_Ling Song_

"What do you think, should we click send?" Jessica asked. Sarah and Diana looked over the writing, and thought it was good. "She'll get the job for sure, you'll see." Sarah commented.

The henchmen was going through submissions for the game ideas when he came across a peculiar one. He noticed the name Ling, which was one of the names he was to watch out for. Another one was Wu, and Chi. The same submission had all of them. He double checked, and dropped his pencil. He printed out the file and rushed to the CEO.

"Sir! We have reports of an interesting submission. I think you should take a look." said the henchmen as he handed the file over to the CEO. The CEO was intrigued read the file with interest with each page flipped. "Sir, do you think…." the henchmen stuttered. "Yes, it is very possible. Very possible indeed." The henchmen nodded, and head out the door.

The CEO got up from his chair, and walked towards the window. He looked out to the world with his demonic eyes. "I got you now Ling Wu..."


End file.
